Chapter 1 · Instruction on Self-realization

Verse 1.1 · Janaka

“How can knowledge be acquired? How can liberation be attained? How is renunciation possible? Tell me this, O Lord.”

kathaṃ jñānam avāpnoti kathaṃ muktir bhaviṣyati…

Verse 1.2 · Ashtavakra

“If you aspire after liberation, my child, shun the objects of the senses as poison and seek forgiveness, sincerity, kindness, contentment…”

muktim icchasi cet tāta viṣayān viṣavat tyaja…

Verse 1.3 · Ashtavakra

“You are neither earth, nor water, nor fire, nor air, nor ether. In order to attain liberation, know the Self as the witness of all these…”

na pṛthvī na jalaṃ nāgnir na vāyur dyaur na vā bhavān…

Verse 1.4 · Ashtavakra

“If you detach yourself from the body and rest in pure Intelligence, you will at once become happy, peaceful and free from bondage.”

yadi dehaṃ pṛthak kṛtya citi viśrāmya tiṣṭhasi…

Verse 1.5 · Ashtavakra

“You do not belong to the Brahmana or any other caste, nor to any Ashrama, nor are you perceived by the senses. Unattached and formless, you…”

na tvaṃ viprādiko varṇo nāśramī nākṣagocaraḥ…

Verse 1.6 · Ashtavakra

“Virtue and vice, pleasure and pain are of the mind and not of you, O all-pervading one. You are neither doer nor enjoyer. Verily, you are…”

dharmādharmau sukhaṃ duḥkhaṃ mānsāni na te vibho…

Verse 1.7 · Ashtavakra

“You are the one seer of all and are really ever free. Verily this alone is your bondage: that you see the seer as something other than…”

eko draṣṭāsi sarvasya muktaprāyo'si sarvadā…

Verse 1.8 · Ashtavakra

“Bitten by the great black serpent of the egoism 'I am the doer', drink the nectar of the faith 'I am not the doer', and be happy.”

ahaṃ kartety ahaṃmāna mahākṛṣṇāhi daṃśitaḥ…

Verse 1.9 · Ashtavakra

“Burn down the forest of ignorance with the fire of the conviction 'I am the One Pure Awareness', and be free from grief and be happy.”

eko viśuddhabodho'ham iti niścayavahninā…

Verse 1.10 · Ashtavakra

“That Consciousness in which this universe appears like a snake in a rope is Bliss — Supreme Bliss. You are that Consciousness. Be happy.”

yatra viśvam idaṃ bhāti kalpitaṃ rajjusarpavat…

Verse 1.11 · Ashtavakra

“One who considers oneself free is free indeed, and one who considers oneself bound remains bound. This popular saying 'as one thinks, so…”

muktābhimānī mukto hi baddho baddhābhimāny api…

Verse 1.12 · Ashtavakra

“The Self is witness, all-pervading, perfect, One, free, pure Consciousness, actionless, unattached, desireless and quiet. Through illusion…”

ātmā sākṣī vibhuḥ pūrṇa eko muktaś cidakriyaḥ…

Verse 1.13 · Ashtavakra

“Meditate on the Self as immovable, pure Awareness and non-dual, having given up the illusion 'I am the reflected self' along with all…”

kūṭasthaṃ bodham advaitam ātmānaṃ paribhāvaya…

Verse 1.14 · Ashtavakra

“My child, you have long been bound by the noose of body-consciousness. Sever it with the sword of the knowledge 'I am pure Awareness' and…”

dehābhimānapāśena ciraṃ baddho'si putraka…

Verse 1.15 · Ashtavakra

“You are unattached, actionless, self-effulgent and without any blemish. This indeed is your bondage: that you practise Samadhi.”

niḥsaṅgo niṣkriyo'si tvaṃ svaprakāśo nirañjanaḥ…

Verse 1.16 · Ashtavakra

“You pervade this universe, and this universe exists in you in reality. You are by nature Pure Consciousness. Do not be small-minded.”

tvayā vyāptam idaṃ viśvaṃ tvayi protaṃ yathārthataḥ…

Verse 1.17 · Ashtavakra

“You are unconditioned, immutable, without support, of cool disposition, of unfathomable intelligence and unperturbed. Be with the desire…”

nirapekṣo nirvikāro nirbharaḥ śītalāśayaḥ…

Verse 1.18 · Ashtavakra

“Know that which has form to be unreal, and the formless to be permanent. Through this instruction in truth, rebirth becomes impossible.”

sākāram anṛtaṃ viddhi nirākāraṃ tu niścalam…

Verse 1.19 · Ashtavakra

“Just as a mirror exists within and all around the image reflected in it, so the Supreme Lord exists inside and outside this body.”

yathaivādarśamadhyasthe rūpe'ntaḥ paritas tu saḥ…

Verse 1.20 · Ashtavakra

“As the same all-pervading ether exists both inside and outside a jar, so the eternal, all-pervasive Brahman exists in all beings.”

ekaṃ sarvagataṃ vyoma bahirantar yathā ghaṭe…